She Dreamed of Winter
by AmaryllisWhimsy
Summary: Of course, he had no idea that she was the Queen of Arendelle. He just knew her as the girl with the bewitching ice blue eyes and a cutting mind who had beaten him at his favorite game. On the flip side, she had no idea that he was a thief trying to go straight, wanted in his homeland. Those were the sort of technicalities that came later. Oneshot.


She always dreamed of winter.

Always the whirling, silver flakes falling. Sometimes that was all there was. The snow, a beautiful, strange loveliness. No two flakes the same.

But the snow could also be savage. It harbored cruelty and bondage, and try as she may, there were nights that Elsa's hands were wrapped in ice that she couldn't break free of. And always the calling of her loved ones, begging for her to stop the ever growing ice making its way to their hearts.

Elsa woke up more nights than she could remember with the words "Help me" on her lips, and the room covered in a frigid, white blanket.

The night that Elsa fled her own kingdom, running to a mountain that she neither knew or understood, she promised herself that she wouldn't cry. Again, over and over in her head, until she realized that she needn't have bothered. It was true. She would not cry because the only sorrow she felt at parting was the small stab for Ana, who she could only have hurt anyway.

_Freedom is power. Freedom is strength. I will not be weak. I will crush the weak inside of me. I will be cold as the winter moon._

_I will be hard as ice._

But still, the nightmares raged, never satisfied.

OooOooO

Elsa did not know the chronicler. In fact, she did not even know of his existence. She could hardly be blamed, for few people did. He was a simple man who had lived a very long time, far longer than he had thought he ever would. And he had a gift, a rare one, to see the stories that needed to be recorded. And he wrote them down, painstakingly, never leaving out a detail. Most did not know of his work. It was only after a chronicler died that anyone ever discovered the many carefully recorded pages. They were usually printed and turned into fairy tales sold in shops.

Elsa may not have known the chronicler. But the chronicler knew her.

Not personally, of course. Only what he saw in his wishing well, which even when frozen over would show the stories to him. The chronicler had recorded hundreds of stories in the course of his life, and had grown a heart accustomed to the pain they usually brought with them. But Elsa's story tugged at it, moved it, until in the end he had wept plain salt tears, and finally, laughed, because he thought one should choose happiness over sorrow.

And he was one of the few people who knew the rest of her story. Who saw a dark haired man with green eyes and a thick brogue accent lose a chess game to her while at the traders market. Of course, he had no idea that she was the Queen of Arendelle. He just knew her as the girl with the bewitching ice blue eyes and a cutting mind who had beaten him at his favorite game. On the flip side, she had no idea that he was a thief trying to go straight, wanted in his homeland. Those were the sort of technicalities that came later.

As Elsa walked home after her victory match, she couldn't help but despise the smile that came to her lips when she thought of his snark and humor.

_It was annoying_, she told herself. _He was far too cocky, far too arrogant to be charming._

If there was anything Elsa was good at besides freezing things, it was lying to herself.

OooOooO

It was nearly two and a half weeks later before she went back to the market again, and even then, it had absolutely nothing to do with the green eyed man who had admittedly made a formidable chess opponent. Nothing at all. She just liked getting out, seeing the people and walking among them free and unafraid.

She didn't see him at first, but she did hear his voice.

"Ah! So she does still exist. I had given up hope that the lady in blue would ever return. Afraid of a beating, I presume."

She turned to face him. He was sitting back in a wooden chair, hands behind his head, the picture of ease. He shot her a devilish grin, which she responded only with a raised eyebrow. Ana had said once that her eyebrow language spoke more than words.

"Come back for more chess?" He asked, putting on an innocent face that she knew was entirely false.

"Please." Elsa rolled her eyes. "I have things I have to do." Then, against her better judgment she added "Do you just loiter around the market all day? Don't you have a job or something?"

"I did but now I don't." He shrugged his shoulders. "Chess?"

"I don't think so."

"You're just scared I'm going to beat you."

She couldn't help but chuckle. "Am I? If my memory serves me correctly then last time you were the one who lost."

"Perhaps I'm looking for redemption. I was going easy on you last time."

She would play, she told herself, if only to put him in his rightful place.

She beat him, of course. She had always had a mind for such things. Ana was never any fun to play, and Kristoff had shown zero interest in the game. She couldn't bite back the smile as he let out a small sigh.

"What's your name?" she finally asked, gently setting the pieces back in their proper places. The air, she noted, was growing chillier. Soon winter would be upon them once more. Not that it mattered to her. To her it stayed the same, the temperature never changing.

"Colin. And may I ask the name of the lady in blue?"

Elsa found, suddenly, that she did not quite like the idea of Colin knowing her name. Of possibly putting her name to the Queen. She couldn't run from who she was. She knew that. But…well maybe she could delay it for a while.

"Tell you what. I'll make a deal with you."

His eyebrows rose. "Sorry, love. Not fond of commitments."

"Hear me out." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "My name will be my secret. But…if you beat me at a fair game of chess, I'll tell you what it is."

There was silence a moment as Colin mulled this over. With a reluctant sigh, he gave a nod. "Alright. You have my curiosity, and with it, a deal. But you'll see. One of these days I'm going to beat you."

"Ha!" It was the only thing she said as she removed herself from the table, not looking back.

OooOooO

Months went by, and no one knew about Elsa's weekly chess matches with Colin. She always won, although there had been a few times when he had come close enough to give her concern. But in the end she always triumphed, leaving him belly aching and swearing that the next match would be the one.

She hadn't expected the friendship to grow. He was a good listener, strangely, and on several occasions she found herself close to slipping and revealing a piece of who she was. What she was. Colin never seemed to judge her mysterious ways, although he complained about them frequently. It was truly remarkable how much one could get to know another person in the course of several months. She knew all sorts of odd facts about him, and weirdly, they were beginning to become dear.

He eventually found a job. "And an honest one to boot," he had said, that same roguish grin on his face. She hadn't asked what he meant by that. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

_Oh, Colin. Be careful. You are such trouble._

She knew she needed to stop one peaceful Friday evening, after he had nearly beat her at a match. His green eyes were playful as usual, his dark hair blowing softly in the breeze. He shivered against it, pulling his sleeves down further as though that would help.

"Does it always get this cold in this country?" He asked, staring pensively up at the sky.

"I suppose."

"Ah. I guess you wouldn't know. The cold doesn't seem to bother you."

She tried not to show any sign that his words had affected her. "I guess I'm just used to it."

He nodded, but she had her doubts that he'd really been paying attention. A far off look had come over his face.

"Maybe it gets so cold here because of your Queen. Doesn't she make frost or something?"

Elsa dropped the pawn she had been holding. It rolled several feet away, but for some reason she couldn't move towards it. She felt solid, frozen. She needn't have bothered. Colin had already gotten up and retrieved the missing piece.

When he handed it back to her, their hands touched briefly. And Elsa felt it. For the first time in her life she felt warmth. It started with the place he had touched and spread up through her heart. It burned. It burned and she liked it.

_No._

_No. I was such a fool._

"Thank you." She hoped he didn't see her hand shake as she put the piece back on the board. "That was a good match. I should be going now."

A frown creased his forehead. "You're leaving? But what about after-chess tea? We always have -"

"Not…not today. I may not be back for a while either. Fair warning."

She rushed off, almost running, going as fast as she could without looking obvious. It had started to snow, fat flakes raining down from the sky. Everyone exclaimed happily, noting the sudden onslaught.

Only Elsa knew when it had begun.

When he touched her hand.

She found a nook to duck into, and she let the tears fall, sliding down her face and freezing as they met her cheeks. They shattered when they hit the ground. The snow blew to nearly blizzard like proportions, and no one entered the streets.

_I will be cold as the winter moon. I will be hard as ice._

OooOooO

She didn't return to the market the next week. Or the week after. She reminded herself that the pain was only temporary. That it was a feeling, after all. Feelings could be ignored.

If she entered a relationship…true she could control her powers. Better than before. But still, sometimes they slipped. And besides, she was Queen. That was responsibility, the sort of thing that someone who knew what they were doing needed to take on.

A small voice inside of her accused her of being afraid. It called her a coward.

She didn't return the second week either.

OooOooO

Their next meeting was pure chance, or destiny, if you will. She hadn't been anywhere near the market. She was walking with Ana, while Ana happily chattered away about wedding plans and chocolate, and how there would be sandwiches at the wedding.

They were outside the palace gates, but still more in the ritzier section of the city. A sound of a struggle interrupted Ana's endless flow of words. And then voices.

One voice in particular.

"Ach! Let me go, I didn't take anything!"

"Don't listen to him." A gruff voice answered, speaking over the other. "He's a thief and a liar. We'll haul him back to his homeland and be sure to lock him up and throw away the key. He's a menace to society. Has been since he was a child."

Elsa was fairly certain that she had never walked so purposefully in her life.

"And just what is going on here?" Her voice was calm, cool, collected. It rang with authority, and everyone stopped to look at her.

Two men - guards - had hold of Colin. And not so gently either. Another man stood off to the side, his eyes hard as steel. He wasn't one of her guards, of that she was certain. She knew all of her own. Next to him stood Captain Henry, looking very uncertain about the whole situation. Colin's mouth practically hung open.

_Oh. Right. Whenever he saw me before I was in a regular street dress._

Explanations would have to wait.

"Well? I'm waiting."

"Your Majesty." The foreign officer bowed. "Forgive us. We were just taking back a criminal who found his way to your shores. Suffice to say he will no longer be a bother to you."

Captain Henry spoke up, sliding the other man an unhappy glance. "And I was just telling the good man that loading people up on ships without any formal paperwork was a bit more complicated than that."

"Indeed." Elsa tried not to look at Colin. She felt her heart quicken knowing that his gaze was on her, and a horrible feeling crept through her at what he must think.

"There will be no need for you to take him away, sir. I shall see to it that he is properly punished."

If possible, the foreign man's eyes hardened even more. "He's a thief, milady."

"I gave everything back," Colin objected, but was hushed by the hand of the man slapping him across the face.

"That is _enough_," Elsa felt ice in her fingertips, practically begging to be released. "I will see to the prisoner myself. You are formally excused by the Queen of Arendelle."

Reluctantly the man backed off. He gave a stiff bow, but his eyes were fire, and they spoke volumes. She hoped her eyes spoke the same.

"Captain Henry, please leave me alone with the prisoner."

"Milady…" Captain Henry said no more, but his voice was heavy with insinuation.

A smirk crossed her face. "I will be fine. If he annoys me then I shall simply create a snow monster to sit on him."

Captain Henry nodded, still not looking fully pleased. Ana seemed torn, but she seemed to sense Elsa's need to be alone. She backed off towards the castle, her face full of concern.

"You are such trouble," Elsa said, after a heartbeat of silence. Colin quirked an eyebrow.

"Me? At least I'm who I say I am!" Then he added, more meekly "Your Majesty."

Elsa waved a hand. "Please. Don't bother with the formalities."

She thought that for a moment a sad look crossed his face. "I don't have anything else to call you, love."

More silence. Then "Elsa will do. What's this about you stealing?"

"I gave it all back," he replied defensively. He gave a small shake of his head. "I did it to survive when I was just a lad. Then I thought better of it, got me a job, and paid them all back. The law still doesn't see it quite my way."

"The law of your land appears a bit ruthless."

He responded with a mirthless laugh.

"I'm sorry I never came back," Elsa spoke softly, after they had lapsed into a long stretch of silence. He shrugged his shoulders, eyes dulling a moment. "It's one way for a lady to reject you, I suppose. I never realized you were the Queen."

"I didn't want you to realize I was the Queen."

"Aye, and you succeeded."

She didn't know what possessed her to say what she said next. She would look back later and still wonder at it. It was unlike her. But something was melting on the inside.

"What did you see?"

Colin took a step forward. His face was softer than she had ever seen it before, and not a trace of mischief could be found on it. He looked straight into her eyes, and she saw fear there, but also something more. Something greater.

"I saw a beautiful woman who had an even more beautiful mind. And she was a little walled off, and I didn't know why. I didn't expect to care. I didn't expect…I didn't expect to fall in love with her." He paused. "Now that I've said that, please don't create a snow man to sit on me."

She laughed, the tears falling like diamonds from her eyes. The snow began to fall but gently, so gently. As gentle as his hand in hers.

_I will love like stars. Constant. _

OooOooO

The chronicler laughed and then cried. Again. He needed to call it a night. But he wasn't worried, not in the least bit.

He knew for certain that this ending was a happy one.

OooOooO

**Thank you for reading. I would like to say that I do not own Frozen or any of the characters. The writing is my own. Please leave a comment - good or bad - it can only make me better. **


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